|Acoustics of baroque, classical and modern flutes|
This is the lowest note on this flute. All tone holes are closed, so the flute most closely resembles a cylinder, and there is no tone-hole filtering at high frequencies. As a result, the regular series of minima (and maxima) in Z(f) extends to high frequencies. The gradual rise at high frequencies is due to the overall geometry: the chimney is in series with the parallel combination of the main part of the bore and the short section between the closed end and the embouchure. The first eight or nine minima can be played (B3, B4, F#5, B5, D#6, F#6, A6, B6, C#7), but usually flute players only play the first, for which the higher minima aid the production of harmonics. Details on the all-closed fingering at lowest note.
Sound spectrum of a modern flute with a B foot played using fingering for B3.
You can hear B3 played by Geoffrey Collins.
B3 is not played on a flute with a C foot.
|Acoustic measurements are available for these flutes -
modern B, modern C, classical C, classical D, classical flared, baroque
Sound clips are available for modern B, classical flared and baroque
|To compare flutes, it is easiest to open a separate browser window for each instrument.|